Michael Murphy has revealed how a stomach bug couldn’t prevent him from lining out for Ireland in last weekend’s International Rules Test against Australia.
Donegal captain Murphy scored 20 points, but Ireland went down 63-53 in Adelaide.
In the early hours of tomorrow morning, Murphy and Ireland will aim to reverse that result in the second Test at the Domain Stadium in Perth.
A bug hit the Irish camp ahead of the first Test with Murphy among those affected.
“Just drained of energy of all sorts,” he explained.
“When you get out there and you get the first rattle, the first bang, the tail goes up and you’re mad for action. I got through it all right..
The Glenswilly man, who captained Ireland for the 2013 series, wasn’t going to lie down easy.
He said: “I was going to go down and try it anyway, try the warm-up at least. Going out in the heat first time around the tongue was fair wagging, but after that it was grand.”
Murphy is a seasoned International Rules player by now and is clearly a big fan of the hybrid game.
He said:
“It’s a game I’ve always enjoyed playing.
“It really emphasises the couple of key skills that Gaelic football’s in need of – kicking and catching. You can see the Aussies, it might look slightly unorthodox at times but they’re quite good at kicking and catching.
“They don’t leave you with any space at all with any chance you do get in that area around the goal but even out the field too, I got wrapped up in a tackle for double-thinking that split second more. It’s not a nice place to be.”